The first thing she saw was that he was completely, terrifyingly naked, very male, and standing directly over her while she was still on the ground beneath him.

Swanly’s eyes widened in pure, horrified shock.

For one breath, she forgot how to be a person.

Her gaze did not go to his face first.

It should have.

A normal woman would have looked at the face of the man who had just transformed from a giant black panther in front of her. A normal woman would have screamed first, asked questions second, and maybe fainted somewhere in between like a proper frightened heroine with dignity.

Swanly did none of that.

Her eyes dropped.

Then froze.

Then nearly fell out of her skull.

Kael noticed exactly where her gaze had landed. His body went still above her, broad chest rising with one slow, deliberate breath. A flicker of male pride moved through his dark golden eyes, not smug, but instinctive and deep, like something ancient in him was pleased that his mate was looking at what belonged to her. His tail gave one lazy curl behind him.

Even through his confusion and worry, that primal satisfaction showed for a heartbeat.

Swanly’s face burned. The audacity of it, that he could stand there looking like that and still have the nerve to feel proud, made her want to throw the useless branch at his head.

Kael was standing far too close to her, and because she was still sitting on the ground with her back pressed against the tree, the angle was so horrifyingly inappropriate that her soul grabbed a blanket and ran into a corner.

She stared.

She knew she was staring.

She could not stop staring.

Her mind was screaming at her to look away, but her eyes had already betrayed her, packed their luggage, and moved into the land of shock.

Huge.

That was her first thought.

Her second thought was, Why is that allowed?

Her third thought was, An animal just transformed in my face.

Her fourth thought was, Why did the animal transform with that in my face?

Her fifth thought was not a thought at all. It was just a long, silent scream echoing through the empty halls of her brain.

Swanly’s mouth opened in disbelief.

The beastman lowered his head a little, his long black hair falling over one shoulder, his dark golden eyes fixing on her face.

"Swanly."

His voice was deep enough to crawl under her skin.

That finally broke the spell.

Swanly blinked.

Once.

Twice.

Then her eyes jerked upward to his face, and that was somehow worse.

Because he was gorgeous.

Not handsome in a normal way.

Not handsome in a neat, clean, reasonable way that belonged to men who had bank accounts and opinions about gym protein.

He looked like something the forest had made when it was in a dangerous mood. His skin was warm bronze, his shoulders wide, his waist narrow, his muscles hard and cleanly carved like he had never once in his life known laziness. His black hair was thick and wild around his face, and two black panther ears stood out from it, flicking slightly with every sound around them. Behind him, a long black tail moved slowly, the tip curling once as he watched her.

His eyes were the worst part.

Dark gold.

Sharp.

Animal.

Too focused.

Too possessive.

Too beautiful for a woman who had just been trying to stay alive.

Swanly’s mouth widened in horror.

No scream came out.

Her throat had closed from pure spiritual damage.

Because yes, fine, he was terrifyingly good-looking.

But that did not change the main issue.

An animal.

An animal.

An animal.

A fucking animal had just transformed into a naked man in front of her.

The three cubs suddenly rushed toward her, their tiny paws pattering over the leaves. They stopped near her knees and looked up at their father, then looked at Swanly, then looked up at their father again, then back at Swanly.

Their little faces were full of confusion.

They clearly did not understand why she looked like her soul had been slapped out of her body.

The smallest cub blinked up at her. "Mama?"

Swanly slowly turned her head toward him.

The cub’s ears twitched.

Then Swanly screamed, "Ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh!"

It burst out of her so suddenly that all three cubs jumped at once.

The smallest one tumbled backward onto his fluffy bottom.

The middle one bumped into his brother.

The eldest puffed up with startled bravery, but because he was still a tiny cub, the effect was less intimidating and more like a black cotton ball had received terrible news.

Kael’s eyes sharpened.

Before Swanly could scream again, he bent down and covered her mouth with one large hand.

The movement was fast.

Too fast.

One moment she was inhaling for scream number two, and the next his palm was warm against her lips, his body leaning over hers, his dark hair falling forward as his eyes locked onto hers.

His palm was warm and calloused against her lips, his body caging her against the tree. She could feel the heat radiating off his skin, smell the wild forest-and-musky scent of him, something that made her stomach flip even as her brain screamed panther man, panther man, run.

His long black hair fell forward, brushing her cheek. One of his panther ears twitched at the sound of her ragged breathing. His dark golden eyes stayed locked on hers, intense and unblinking, like he was daring her to bite him.

For one dangerous second, the air between them thickened. His thumb shifted slightly against her lower lip, not on purpose, but enough that she felt it everywhere.

"Quiet," he said, voice low and rough, the word vibrating through his chest and into her. "Do not scream."

Swanly’s eyes went even wider.

He was touching her.

The naked panther man was touching her mouth.

The naked panther man who had just transformed in front of her was crouched close enough that she could feel the heat of his body.

Her brain, already wounded, rolled over and pretended to be dead.

He lowered his voice further. "I do not know if those things are still close."

Those things?

Swanly stared at him over his hand.

Her breathing turned shallow.

Kael seemed to realize she was not screaming anymore.

He slowly pulled his hand back, but didn’t retreat. He stayed right there, crouched between her knees, one arm braced on the tree beside her head. His tail flicked once near her leg. The heat of him was impossible to ignore.

Swanly dragged in a shaky breath that tasted like him.

Then another.

Then she pointed at him with a trembling hand.

"Who the hell are you?"

Kael went still.

The cubs went still too.

The eldest cub looked from Swanly to his father with round eyes. "Mama no know Papa?"

The middle cub whispered, "Mama hit head?"

The smallest cub gasped softly. "Mama broke?"

"I am not broken!" Swanly snapped automatically.

Then she paused.

Actually, no.

Maybe she was.

Maybe this was exactly what being broken looked like.

Kael’s golden eyes narrowed, but there was hurt beneath the suspicion, a sharp thing he hid badly because his face was too intense to be calm.

"You ask who I am?" he said slowly.

"Yes," Swanly said. "That is usually what people ask when a giant panther turns into a naked man in front of them."

His brows drew together.

"Naked?"

Swanly made a strangled sound. "Do not say it like that is the confusing part."

He looked down at himself, then back at her as if she was the strange one.

Swanly nearly laughed from stress.

Of course.

Of course in this world, nudity was probably not the issue. Why would it be? Why would the universe let her keep one single social rule from her old life? Clearly, everyone here just transformed and let everything swing in the breeze like the forest had no shame.

Kael studied her face carefully.

"Do not scream again," he said. "The dead-bitten beasts may still be near. Their hearing is strange. They follow loud sounds."

Swanly’s blood cooled.

Dead-bitten.

That sounded terrible.

That sounded familiar.

That sounded like the universe had followed her across worlds with a grudge.

She swallowed. "Dead-bitten beasts?"

He watched her as if trying to decide whether she was pretending.

"You saw them before you collapsed."

"I collapsed?"

His jaw tightened. "You ate the black-veined fruit."

The three cubs lowered their heads.

The smallest one sniffled immediately.

"Mama sleep long," he said in a tiny voice. "Papa scare."

Kael’s face shifted.

Only slightly.

But Swanly saw it.

For one second, beneath all that dangerous strength, he looked tired. Not physically tired. Something worse. Something deep. Something that had sat beside a sleeping person for days and had no idea whether she would wake up or die.

Then his expression hardened again.

"You do not need another trick," he said. "I told you already. I will not let you go alone."

Swanly stared at him.

"What trick? What are you talking about?"

His eyes darkened. "Do not act as if you do not know me to make me stay away."

She blinked at him, stunned.

Then she pointed at herself. "You think I am pretending?"

"You have done worse."

The words were not loud.

That made them heavier.

The cubs curled closer together, their little tails tucked around their paws. They looked like they understood the feeling of those words even if they did not understand the whole meaning.

Swanly’s heart twisted, but fear and confusion were still fighting for control of her mouth.

"Listen. I don’t know what you think is happening, but I’m not pretending. I really do not know you. I don’t know this place. I don’t know why I’m dressed like this. I don’t know why my system is gone. I don’t know why baby panthers are calling me Mama, and I definitely do not know why you are standing there looking like a forest god with no clothes and emotional damage."

Kael stared at her.

The cubs stared at her.

The forest might have stared too.

The smallest cub whispered, "Mama talks much."

Swanly looked at him. "I am under pressure."

Kael did not respond at once.

His gaze moved over her face again, slower this time, like he was trying to search for the female he knew inside her expression and could not find her there. His suspicion remained, but confusion had begun eating through it.

"What is a system?" he asked.

Swanly’s stomach dropped.

Of all the things he could have asked, that one hurt the most.

Because if he did not know what a system was, then this was not a hidden mission.

This was not a new survival zone.

This was not some trial where the system would appear after she completed step one.

This was something else.

Something far worse.

Swanly pressed a hand to her chest and forced herself to breathe.

"Never mind."

"Swanly."

"Stop saying my name like that."

"Like what?"

"Like you own it."

His eyes did not move from hers. "I do."

Her mouth fell open.

The cubs looked up at her proudly, as if their father had said something very normal and reasonable.

Swanly lifted one shaking finger. "Absolutely not. No. That is not how names work."

Kael’s jaw tensed.

"You are my mate."

The words hit her like a branch to the forehead.

Swanly went silent.

Then she laughed once.

A terrible, empty little laugh.

"No."

He did not blink. "Yes."

"No."

"Yes."

"No, because I would know if I had a mate."

"You have my mark."

Swanly’s laughter died.

Kael’s gaze lowered.

He pointed toward her side, just beneath her ribs.

Swanly slowly looked down.

Her animal hide top had shifted during her earlier crawling, revealing a patch of skin near her left rib. There, curved against her body like a dark crescent, was a mark. It looked like a bite at first, but not exactly. The shape was too clean, too deep, almost like black ink had grown under her skin in the shape of a panther’s fang and claw, delicate but unmistakable.

It pulsed faintly when she touched it.

His gaze dropped to the mark too. Something flickered in his eyes, possession, relief, and a darker hunger he quickly banked.

Swanly snatched her hand back.

"What the fuck?"

His eyes flickered.

"That is my mating mark."

Swanly stared at the mark again.

Then at him.

Then at the cubs.

Then back at the mark.

Her breathing quickened.

"No," she whispered. "No, no, no. I did not sign up for this. I did not even click agree."

The middle cub padded closer and pressed one tiny paw against her knee.

"Mama no like Papa?"

His voice was so small that Swanly almost died from guilt on the spot.

The smallest cub leaned against him. "Mama no like us too?"

Swanly turned quickly. "I did not say that."

"You say not Mama," the eldest said, trying to sound brave, but his little voice wobbled at the edges.